Is Earth Really Round? | The Institute for Creation Research

 
Is Earth Really Round?

Without a doubt, Earth is round, or nearly so. Using careful measurements from the ground and observations from space we can be certain it is essentially a sphere, with only minor bulging near the equator. If reduced to the size of a billiard ball, it would be perfectly smooth, and we wouldn't even be able to feel the highest mountains or deepest oceans. The erosive action of rainfall, glaciers and wind couple with gravity to relocate material from higher elevations to lower ones, rounding the globe. We actually observe these familiar mechanisms at work in the present.

By the way, the Bible has always taught a spherical Earth. There are, of course, instances of phenomenological language, where the author refers to what the viewer can see, just as we do today when communicating. We talk about "flat" terrain or a "flat" ocean even though we know they follow Earth's curvature. It is flat to our eyes and to our listener's eyes. But when the issue of Earth's shape is addressed in Scripture, the Hebrew wording implies sphericity (see Isaiah 40:22, etc.).

This may seem unimportant, but evolutionists often belittle creation thinking by comparing it to belief in a flat Earth. Certainly most who do so are merely repeating catchy insults from others, even though there are many who make the claim maliciously and purposively. While this may make them feel superior it belies a great misunderstanding (or misrepresentation) of creation and of the nature of science itself!

Of course creationists and evolutionists agree fully on Earth's shape. It involves observational science. Earth can be observed to be round. This is not a matter of interpretation. This is simply an observational fact. To deny it is to deny observation, and no one does.

Compare this with macroevolution, the theory that basic plant and animal types have changed into others. This is not and has never been observed. Instead, we observe stasis, that things "stay" the same, with only minor adaptations to the basic types. Evolutionists recognize this fact of the present too, but they claim things underwent major changes in the unobserved past when no one was present to observe it, and that all of life experienced these major changes. Indeed, their claim is that all of life came from a common ancestor. They argue about the mechanism by which this happened, but not the truth of the claim.

Thus evolution must deny the ubiquitous observation of stasis, relying on an unobserved mechanism to accomplish great changes. Evolution must confuse facts about the present operation of the universe based on observations in the present with speculation about its history which ignore present observations.

So in reality, evolution claims bear more resemblance to flat Earth claims than does creation thinking. Based as it is on a rather unsupported view of the past, and a denial of present observations, its supporters really shouldn't be throwing stones at those who are doing better science.

Cite this article: John D. Morris, Ph.D. 2006. Is Earth Really Round?. Acts & Facts. 35 (3).

The Latest
CREATION PODCAST
World-Class PhD Chemist: THIS Is Why I Believe in God
Why does this world-class chemist say the evidence for a Creator is undeniable? Mary Clair Kelly sits down with Dr. Marcos Eberlin to talk about his career...

CREATION PODCAST
Christian Scientist: Everyone Needs to Know About These Fossil...
Scientists just found blood vessels and proteins preserved inside dinosaur bone — soft tissue that simply could not have survived for millions of years....

CREATION PODCAST
Christian Engineer: These Remarkable Organisms Will Make You...
Today, Trey sits down with Dr. Randy Guliuzza, expert in engineered biology, and discusses the remarkable abilities we see in living things and that organisms’...

CREATION PODCAST
Christian PhD: They Do NOT Want You Knowing about These Discoveries
Scientists keep finding soft tissue, blood cells, and even stretchy proteins inside dinosaur bones — things that should have turned to dust millions...

CREATION PODCAST
Christian Scientist: These T. Rex Fossils Just Revealed Something...
Dinosaur fossils are holding something scientists never expected to find, and it raises a big question about how old they really are. Today, paleobiochemist...

CREATION PODCAST
Christian Geologist: These Facts About Dinosaurs Will BLOW Your...
Today Dr. Tim Clarey lays out numerous mind-blowing facts about dinosaurs. He highlights powerful evidence that dinosaurs and humans lived side by side,...

NEWS
November Wallpaper
"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you...

NEWS
Watching PBS: Where’s the Beef?
In the mid-1980s, a United States fast-food hamburger chain ran a series of television ads with the slogan, “Where’s the beef?” The...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Chocolate
Hi, kids! We created a special Acts & Facts page just for you! Have fun doing the activities while learning about the wonderful world...

APOLOGETICS
Theism: The Only Way to Go(d)
Countless religious writings and ruins confirm that humans can’t help but worship something or someone. Should we worship Thor, Jesus, Molech,...